I enjoy hiking the various tracks through Cleland National Park that lead to Mt Lofty Summit. Occasionally I, or the group I'm with, will have a snack or a meal at the cafe when we reach the top. The best thing about this is quite simply the view, also, for us it's probably also the sense of achievement at having enjoyed the hike. So, what's it like?
The restaurant & cafe cater to a variety of people - including tourists, those out for a special day, or groups of sweaty hikers or runners. All of whom will sit at nearby tables. This is a place that you decide on what you'd like to eat, head to the counter, order & pay, then take a buzzer & go back to your table & wait for it to sound. If you're having a meal & are inside, then they'll bring the food (except cakes) to your table (so you quote your table number). Otherwise, you'll go to the counter & negotiate the way back to your table with the drinks & food yourself.
Seating can be competitive, and there are some pockets of tables that are downright unpleasant on windy & cold days due to the way that the doors open. The tables & chairs themselves are fine, however it's tricky to negotiate disabled & pram access given that the tables are right at the doorways.
The service is 'ok'. The last time I was there (December 2012), I ordered three cakes & drinks for myself & family, & it took the same number of staff to enter the order into their machine. They were training a new staff member (it was a Sunday, about midday), so I understand it can take a while to get the hang of it, though we thought it was excessive when I had to ask over and over again to repeat & correct the order. The tables weren't wiped clean - there were rings from drinks & crumbs (even crusts!) left on most of the tables.
When we had breakfast the weekend before, we had to ask for butter for the toast, as well as napkins, and get back up to get spoons for our coffee. I suppose we should have realised, that this sort of thing is perhaps becoming modern, but the it's pretty pricey & I'd have thought they'd just do that for us.
Yes, it is expensive. Not completely insane - our 2 coffees, milkshake & 3 cakes cost just under $40. The plate I had my cake on had something a bit sticky looking on it, but I couldn't be bothered going back because of what we had to endure in simply ordering it. If you look closely at the picture, you can see what I mean - and note the 'hard' poached eggs. The breakfast we had - 2 serves of pancakes, 1 'summit' breakfast, 1 eggs on toast, 2 milkshakes & 2 coffees - cost just under $90. There was nothing special about it (remember, we had to ask for butter for the toast), and the pancake serves really were small. Given what we'd already paid, I'd have paid a few dollars more to have either full table service, or an extra pancake, plus the butter without having to ask.
This is a place that you will pay to sit & have something to eat, and enjoy being in the environment at Mt Lofty - you're not paying for the service or cleanliness of tables. The cake cabinet is really one of the best of all tourist areas in Adelaide - there's cakes, muffins, biscuits, fudge, and there's also an icecream freezer with paddle...
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